Arc and Charity Stripe Not So Charitable as Toros Men Drop 82-75 CCAA Opening Decision to Cal State Stanislaus on “Pack the Gym Night”
Rivers’ 15 points for naught as Toros remain winless to begin 2006-07
December 1, 2006

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills senior Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) tallied 15 points to lead three Toros in double-figure scoring, but CSUDH went 2-for-11 from beyond the arc while visiting Cal State Stanislaus nailed 12-of-31 from 3-point land as the Warriors kept the Toros winless to start the 2006-07, taking an 82-75 decision in front of nearly a thousand Friday night fans on “Pack the Gym Night.”

The Warriors (4-3, 1-0 CCAA) played the Toros even to begin the contest, taking a 17-10 lead on a Heath Colvin jumper at the 12:05 mark. The first half seemed like two separate games as both coaches made numerous wholesale line-up changes liberally, matching fresh body for fresh body. Gabe Bernard (North Hills, CA/University of Texas at San Antonio) brought the Toros to within two on a jumper and 3-pointer, before a Shamont Brown (Jamaica, NY/Riverside CC) bucket and Jamaal Barnes (Compton, CA/Compton JC) lay-up gave CSUDH a 19-17 lead with just under 10 minutes in the first half.

The Toros (0-3, 0-1 CCAA) increased their advantage to 32-23 on a Jamel Ward (Los Angeles, CA/Inglewood HS) jumper five minutes later, until consecutive treys by Anthony Zuniga and Marcus Martinez cut CSUDH’s lead to 36-34 with 1:05 left, with the Toros eventually taking a precarious 39-36 advantage into intermission.

After the Toros scored the first bucket of the second half, the visitors ran off nine-consecutive points to take a 45-41 lead. That advantage quickly evaporated, however, as a Jonathan Toliver (Inglewood, CA/Westchester HS) trey and a Rivers free throw eventually tied the game at 48-48 until four quick points by CSUS brought its lead to 52-48 with just under 15 minutes left in regulation. The game would see-saw until CSUDH made a run in taking a 58-52 lead on a Brown lay-up at 11:23. That’s when the Warriors turned up the offensive heat, using two 3-pointers by Dominique Pennix to cap a 14-3 run that saw CSUS take a 66-61 advantage.

CSUDH would battle to within one point twice, before a Nic Pederson lay-up and three-consecutive Martinez free throws after he was fouled taking a 3-point shot gave the Warriors breathing room and a six-point lead. Calvin Westbrook made it an eight-point cushion with 1:16 left in the game, with the Toros never getting closer than six points the rest of the way.

Brown and Barnes chipped in 12 points apiece in the loss, while Toliver notched a game-high seven assists against no turnovers. CSUS’ Martinez paced all scorers with 19 points and was bolstered by 10 points each by Rick Cardoso and Pederson. As a team, CSUDH out-shot CSUS 50.8% to 46.4% and collected three more boards, but lacked substantially at the free throw line (81.8% to 61.1%) and behind the arc (38.7% to 18.2%) in the loss.

The Toros continue their CCAA weekend tomorrow as they host Chico State, with first tip scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Torodome.